Originally published at: Letter to the Editor: Another Side of the Roswell Air Races
An AVweb reader offers another perspective on the Roswell Air Races, which took place earlier this month.
1 Like
How exciting to see the first National Championship Air Races at Roswell, NM. I’m an old working stiff with an airplane habit who never made it to the Reno Air Races, but will definitely attend next year at Roswell. I’m sorry that Gary’s experience was disappointing, but I hope to meet him there next year.
Hey Gary, I too was a long time attendee of the Reno Air Races. It was always that if you wanted a chair you had to bring it yourself. The opening ceremonies were always took place at around 10:00 after the Formula Ones and Biplanes raced. They had to get those races in before the winds picked up. Same with Roswell. You are right that signage for parking could have been better. For the first year and the short amount of time they had to put this event together RARA, the City of Roswell, and all the volunteers did a fantastic job.
I understand Gary’s point of view. I think most of us did enough research to know the unlimiteds (I never expected them to show up) and the sport class weren’t going to be there, so most weren’t surprised. They’ve always had the opening ceremony late morning. The pits were definitely sparse but I’m hoping a lot of people were holding out to see how year one went. I really think it was a great event and I’m looking forward to next year. The town is great and I enjoyed much more than Reno (I’m a country boy). With today’s technology I found no problems with driving in and finding parking!
There is a lot of learning ahead for the folks that run the races and the locals who expected to benefit. I booked an Airbnb as soon as the Roswell races were announced. At ~$300/night, I thought it was pricy but worth it. As the race date neared, my reservation was abruptly cancelled, then the host sent a note that the room was available at $1,500/night. Well, I declined and started looking for alternatives. When the Unlimiteds dropped out, I dropped my plans. Based on what I’ve read, that was a good move for me.
This topic was automatically closed after 7 days. New replies are no longer allowed.